I was delighted in The Times Argus to see a column by Alan Betts, Vermont’s leading climate scientist, urging people to find out more about the growing transition movement. For those of you who read this article and now want to know more, let me tell you that central Vermont has one of the most vibrant Transition Town movements of anywhere in New England.

Over the past few years, the folks who make up Transition Town Montpelier have been very busy. They created the Apple Corps, which plants vegetables at the Statehouse gardens that are given to the food pantry. Then there is the Third Thursday lecture series at the Kellogg-Hubbard Library, which brings different transition topics to a public forum. This year the lectures will include presentations on permaculture, urban homesteading and the new economy in Vermont.

Every year we have held a two-day Village Building Convergence locally. This event is based on the idea of “reskilling.” Basically there are a lot of skills and knowledge that may be lost that will be helpful in adapting to a future of climate and economic change. So this convergence offers a collection of workshops ranging from soap making to alternative building methods that allow older keepers of these skills and knowledge to pass them on to the young.

The Energy Descent Action Plan is the product of a multiyear study by Transition Town Montpelier as to the priorities and policies needed to be put in place locally to help us all survive a future with scarcer oil resources and disrupted economics. Other transition groups from around New England are now modeling their plans on Montpelier’s. Finally, there is a monthly potluck luncheon organized to help people meet others who want to get involved. For those of you who know we are headed for difficult times because of climate and economic changes, these luncheons are a great way to meet others with the same fears and hopes for a different path.

So let me echo Dr. Betts and urge all of the Times Argus readers to get involved with Transition Town Montpelier. You can find us on the Web and at event listings in this paper.

Dan Jones

Montpelier

The writer is a member of the Transition Town Montpelier Steering Committee.